June 28, 2023

"The last thing they want to hear"

Drug shortages are a growing problem in the U.S., and a shortage of livesaving cancer drugs in particular has reached crisis levels.

On the latest episode of the "First Opinion Podcast," oncologist Kristen Rice explains that drug shortages have been happening for several years but have been progressively worsening in the past few months. Oncologists are facing critical shortages of common, generic cancer medications and have even begun to ration care for certain patients who are able to delay treatment, according to Rice.

"Patients are already under a lot of stress — they're dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and they're terrified. The last thing they want to hear is that something that's critical to controlling their cancer might not be available, and we're wondering where the next dose is going to come from," Rice said.

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